


String Lights

by Raven052



Series: 12 Days of Frerard Christmas [7]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, M/M, holidays together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 22:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2828645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven052/pseuds/Raven052
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's getting close to Christmas, and usually Gerard is more than prepared.<br/>But this year he is holding back, and putting off arrangements. </p><p>When Frank learns why, accidently, he sets out to surprise him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	String Lights

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set within the storyline of my chaptered fic, 'Runaway'. It fits in roughly half way through that series

~Set within ‘Runaway’ storyline~

It was mid December, and Christmas felt to be fast approaching. 

Usually by this point, Gerard would’ve bought everything he needed to, would be making arrangements to see friends and family, and he would’ve had the decorations up in his apartment.  
This year, however, things were different.  
And, Gerard had to admit, he wasn’t sure how to handle this particular area. 

This year, he had Frank.  
Which he wouldn’t change for the world. Despite all the difficulties they’d faced together, Gerard didn’t regret taking Frank in for a second.  
The problem was… Gerard didn’t know how Frank would react to… Well. Christmas.  
He knew, he knew very well, that it’d been Frank’s own decision to leave home, and that he had no intentions of going back.  
But. If there was ever a time of year you’d miss your family, miss home and want to be with them again, it had to be Christmas.  
Gerard just didn’t want to cause any unnecessary upset. 

On the subject of family, Gerard’s own had been desperately trying to get an answer out of him.  
His parents wanted him, and Mikey home for Christmas, like every year.  
Which was fine, and Gerard wanted to go, of course he did.  
But. Again.  
Frank.  
Gerard didn’t know how to bring up the subject. He knew it should be so simple, to ask his boyfriend, who he was living with, if he wanted to come to his parents house for Christmas, to spend the holiday with his family.  
Fuck, shouldn’t it actually be easier, knowing Frank didn’t have the same kind of family ties that Gerard did? They’d be no conflict, like Gerard had experienced with previous partners.  
But, not including the other worry, the one that meant Gerard hadn’t even decorated his apartment yet, there was the other, bigger issue.  
The fact that, still, Frank didn’t like leaving the safe confines of the apartment. 

Gerard’s phone went off, again, and he checked it quickly.  
Message from Mikey, again.  
Read simply:  
 **Mom keeps calling. She wants to know why you’re ignoring her. Just ask Frank about Christmas.**  
Gerard rolled his eyes as he slipped his phone away again.  
 _You make it sound soo simple._  
The phone went again.  
Another message from Mikey.  
 **And don’t ignore me either.**  
Gerard had to laugh at that one. 

Frank had noticed the lack of Christmassy activities in the apartment.  
He didn’t want to bring it up though, perhaps this was how Gerard always was around the holidays, perhaps he didn’t go in for it much.  
But that didn’t exactly make a lot of sense to Frank… Gerard was… He was just the kind of person Frank could imagine throwing himself into the season.  
Or perhaps that was just because Frank saw him as such a… Giving person. He seemed so perfectly suited to Christmas time. 

But… Here they were, less than two weeks until the big day and… Nothing. 

****

Another work day for Gerard, so Frank found himself alone again.  
He’d managed to find a Christmas film on TV, and he was half watching it, half thinking about Gerard and the odd lack of Christmas touches in his home. 

Then Frank heard an unexpected, but familiar sound.  
He followed the noise back into the bedroom, where he found Gerard’s phone, forgotten on his bedside cabinet.  
This was something else unexpected, Gerard rarely left the house without it. In fact, to begin with Gerard had assured Frank he had his phone on him at all times, so Frank could call him if he needed.  
He couldn’t remember Gerard being in any particular hurry that might’ve made him forget it that morning, but he supposed it wasn’t exactly a big issue.  
Frank nearly turned to leave the phone singing to itself, when he caught sight of the name on the screen.  
Mikey.  
Not quite sure if this was the right thing to do, Frank guessed he could answer it, just in case it was important. At the very least he could tell Mikey that Gerard had left his phone behind. 

Mikey was definitely surprised to hear Frank’s voice.  
“Frank?”  
“Yeah… Um. Gerard left his phone, so, uh… I figured I’d answer it to let you know, in case it was important.”  
He heard a sigh from Mikey.  
“He’s going to some lengths to avoid answering…”  
Immediately, Frank jumped to Gerard’s defence. “No! He just forgot it! He wasn’t-”  
“Frank.” Mikey interrupted. “Has Gerard mentioned anything about Christmas to you?”  
Frank frowned, surprised by the question.  
Wondering how Mikey knew.  
“Uh… No. Um… I actually wanted to ask you about that. Is he… Does he usually not… Do much for Christmas? You know… Decorations and stuff.”  
Another, longer sigh from Mikey, which turned into a groan.  
That just made Frank more surprised, and confused.  
This wasn’t normal, was it?  
“Mikey…”  
“Just. When Gerard gets home. Talk to him, okay? Bring the subject up for me, please. Then tell him he needs to call me.”  
Still not exactly sure what was going on, Frank agreed. “Okay… Okay Mikey I will.”

When Frank hung up, he saw there were four unread text messages from Mikey.  
All asking about Christmas.  
All mentioning Frank.  
Slowly, things were becoming very, very clear. 

****

Frank went back to the TV, still thinking everything over.  
Gerard wasn’t doing anything to do with Christmas, because he was worried about Frank’s reaction. 

On the screen, a couple who had taken the entire film to get together were adding ornaments to an overly perfect looking Christmas tree, the girl reaching up, standing on her tiptoes to get one in the right place.  
The rest of the scene looked perfectly warm and Christmassy too.  
Frank couldn’t help but look around the apartment again.  
It was warm, in it’s own way. Inviting in it’s own very unique style, Frank could never deny that.  
But it wasn’t Christmassy, he noticed, yet again.  
When the guy on the screen bent down, and turned on the lights, Frank was thinking about what the place would look like with a few… Touches.  
Mikey had made it clear this wasn’t usual for Gerard.  
He probably wanted the place decorated.  
An image of Gerard walking through the door, a surprised but delighted look on his face had Frank back on his feet, abandoning the film just as the couple on screen embraced and kissed, quite typically under the mistletoe.  
He wasn’t even slightly interested in their story anymore.  
He had a Christmas of his own to take care of. 

****

It didn’t take long for Frank to stumble across his first problem.  
He had no idea where Gerard might keep his Christmas decorations.  
He didn’t like prying around Gerard’s stuff, no matter how much Gerard told him it was his home too now, and not to worry.  
 _“I’ve got nothing to hide.”_ Gerard had once told him, with a casual smile, though Frank knew Gerard understood the importance of the statement.  
Even so…  
Frank started in the bedroom, even though he knew there wasn’t a whole lot of places things could be stashed in there.  
A very quick rummage at the bottom and top of the wardrobe produced no results, and after checking under the bed Frank came to the conclusion there was nothing to be found in that room.

The next most obvious place to check was the small cupboard near the door.  
Frank hadn’t been in there before, and he soon discovered it wasn’t anywhere near as small as it had first appeared.  
Far, far towards the back, and with a lot of climbing and careful moving and replacing of things involved, Frank eventually found what he was looking for.  
A big cardboard box, with doodled holly and snowmen and reindeer and the word ‘CHRISTMAS’ written in the familiar writing.  
With only a little difficulty, Frank pulled the box out.

He carried it over into the living room, setting the box down on the floor, Frank knelt beside it, and opened it up.  
He pulled out various things. Tinsel, wreaths and cute little ornaments. Some of which looked homemade.  
Then he found another, round box inside.  
He pulled it out and discovered it to be a long, long chain of different coloured lights.  
Frank smiled.  
He knew where he was going to start. 

****  
Gerard had to admit, it’d been nice not to hear his phone going off every half hour.  
Now though, he did feel very guilty. He knew Mikey was just doing what his parents were asking him to. And, of course, Mikey wanted to make sure he was going to see Gerard for Christmas.  
It was all understandable, and Gerard knew he was the one being difficult.  
But… Mikey, at least, had to understand why he didn’t have an answer for them.  
When he thought about the idea of Frank coming back to his parents house with him for Christmas, Gerard couldn’t help but smile. The idea of him, his parents, Mikey and Frank all together seemed… It seemed perfect.  
And more right than any other partner he’d had with him before.

But… What if Frank said no? What would he do then? He couldn’t just abandon Frank here, and he didn’t want to upset his own family.  
Or maybe this would be the point when Frank decided it was time he went back to his own family.  
Gerard couldn’t, wouldn’t argue with that, but, selfishly, he didn’t want to spend the holidays without Frank.

He knew he was pushing it though. He’d have to bring it up eventually.  
And tonight, he’d have to answer the awkward question of how come he hadn’t been answering his phone all day.

Despite everything else going on in his head, Gerard was immediately panicked, and worried when he opened the door and discovered only darkness waited for him.  
His heart in his throat, Gerard tried to calm himself down, and ignore all the awful series of events that were running through his mind.  
Someone broke in.  
 _What if Frank’s hurt?_  
What if it was Jimmy?  
“Frank?” Gerard called out, tentatively. 

There was a flick of a switch and then the room, the whole front of the apartment, was lit up.  
Gerard’s eyes went wide as he took in all the bright, different coloured lights that dangled and draped all around the walls.  
He also noticed a few other decorations, which he knew, recognised as his own, dotted around, tinsel draped in a similar style to the lights.  
But, before he could take it all in, he caught sight of the one thing he’d been looking for most.  
In the centre of the room, Frank stood up from the crouched position he’d been in to turn on the burst of Christmas lights.  
He was wearing a Santa hat he’d found in the box, and a small, hopeful smile.  
Gerard couldn’t think of a thing to say.  
He was far too stunned, and surprised and…  
Pleased.  
“I, uh… I hope you don’t mind, I kinda answered your phone earlier.” Frank explained, nervously.  
Now Gerard felt a little nervous too.  
“And, uh… Mikey said some stuff, about bringing up Christmas with you and… I started thinking… About how there was nothing… You hadn’t done anything Christmassy, and… It didn’t seem right, for you. And, uh… I started to wonder why. And, I’m not sure if I got it right, but, I decided… I figured it was about time we started celebrating… Um. Christmas.”  
Still, and actually, more than ever, Gerard couldn’t figure out what to say.  
He started to walk towards Frank, who continued to ramble, nervously. “So, um, I don’t know if you have a certain way of decorating, and, um… I couldn’t find a tree so-”  
He cut off when, suddenly, he felt Gerard’s arms tight around him, pulling him close.  
Frank looked up, and saw Gerard smiling.  
“You… Like it?” He asked, hopefully.  
Gerard nodded, then kissed him, very softly. “I love it.” He said.  
Then, with another kiss, Gerard added, “And I love you.”

****  
Later, Gerard finally brought up the subject of Frank coming back with him and Mikey.  
Frank had been hesitant, but only because he was worried if he would really be welcome.  
“You sure I won’t be in the way…”  
“Of course not!” Gerard laughed. “They want you there too.”

As the evening went by, they continued to talk about it, about Christmas, and how they were going to spend it, together.  
“We can stay in my old room.”  
Frank liked the sound of that, and the rest of it.

Gerard made a quick phone call to Mikey, to tell him everything was going as planned, and Frank was coming with them.  
“Finally.” Was Mikey’s simple, exasperated reply. 

Even later, and just as they were heading to bed, Frank jumped up, smiling, his eyes bright and excited.  
“Hold on. I’ve got another surprise.”  
He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Gerard once again confused, but happy, intrigued and excited to see what his boyfriend had come up with now.

A few seconds, and then Gerard heard a call to say Frank was ready.

Walked in, and found a beautiful sight.  
Even more strings of lights, this time all white ones, were strung around the room.  
Frank sat, cross legged in the middle of the bed, watching Gerard’s response.  
When Gerard’s eyes found his again, Frank smiled a little more, and pointed up.  
Gerard looked, and found a styled knot of green and white tinsel, with it’s own white light shining beside it, hanging from the ceiling.  
“I… Uh. It’s meant to look like… Um. Mistletoe.” Frank explained.  
Gerard laughed, quietly, amazed at everything Frank had done.  
He came closer, got up on the bed, moving towards Frank.  
“So. You put mistletoe above our bed?”  
Frank nodded.  
Gerard leant in, pushing the hat off Frank’s head, to push his fingers through his hair.  
“That means I need to kiss you.”  
Frank nodded, his eyes closing as their lips met.  
Barely parting, Gerard asked, quietly, “Is the mistletoe still there?”  
Frank smiled, just slightly, and nodded.  
“Guess I’ve gotta kiss you again, then.”  
Which he did.  
“And… Again.” Gerard said, curling his arms around Frank, pulling him close.  
“And again.” He gently guided them both down, laying on their sides, facing each other, Gerard continued to stroke his hand through Frank’s hair as they kissed.  
“And… Again.”  
Frank stopped him then, and pointed up again. “Technically we’re not under it anymore.” He said.  
Gerard shrugged. “It’s still above us. I say it counts.”  
He waited until Frank agreed, then kissed him, carried on kissing him.

“Gee.” Frank said, quietly, some time later. Both were aware they should’ve turned the lights off in the room, but neither wanted too, they looked too nice.  
“I… Thank you, for inviting me to your parents place. I think… It’s gonna be a really good Christmas.”  
“I think so too.” Gerard assured.  
One more kiss, then Frank was curling up close, that familiar hand taking hold of Gerard’s shirt.

Gerard didn’t sleep right away, aware of when the temperature dropped, and he had the real feeling they’d wake to find snow in the morning. 

He watched Frank for a while, and as the soft lights illuminated the room, Gerard couldn’t help thinking about everything Frank had done today.  
It was going to be the best Christmas, because Gerard knew, he already had everything he wanted.


End file.
